In Pursuit of Imbalance: Swimming Against the Low Alcohol Tide in Australia

Home to arguably the poster child for overly alcoholic red wines, particularly those from the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale, some Australian winemakers are resisting the call by consumers, and even some governments, to deliver wines with a lower alcohol percentage.

Andrew Sutherland Smith, winemaker at Warrabilla Wines in Victoria (a cooler climate than Barossa or the Vale) where the wines can top out at 16 to 16.5 percent alcohol, tells Good Food, ''I have possibly lost some customers,'' he says, ''but I wouldn't be in business if no one wanted my wines. This is the style my customers want to buy.''

So how much of a 16.5 alcohol wine do you have to imbibe to be considered to have consumed one standard drink? Just four tablespoons, according to Good Food. (Though who sets the standard of "standard"?)

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